Should Irish Emigrants Have Voting Rights ?

[C. Flower]

Ireland makes no provision for emigrants to vote, apart from the Senate votes of Trinity and UCD graduates.

This is very unusual - most EU countries give votes to emigrants and many other countries, even those like Mexico with large numbers of emigrants, have emigrant voting rights.

http://www.ean.ie/issues/emigrant-voting/

Should Irish emigrants have the vote, and if so, should it be for all elections ?

And should this right be for everyone born in Ireland, or should there be a cut -off of say, 5 or 15 years from emigration ?

Any theories about why we compare so badly with other countries on this ?

[truth.ie]

It's compulsory for some emigrants to vote when abroad. Failure to do so can result in fines.

[youngdan]

I have a senate vote.

I should have a dail vote.

[Apjp]

I have a senate vote.

I should have a dail vote.

yes because you care.

[Sidewinder]

Any theories about why we compare so badly with other countries on this ?

Surely that's obvious?

The vast bulk of emigrants have left either through economic necessity, due to the woeful incompetence of the ruling oligarchy; or they've left in disgust at the narrow-minded parochial gombeenism and corruption of the ruling oligarchy.

And you think the ruling oligarchy would allow these people to vote?!

[Dr. FIVE]

And you think the ruling oligarchy would allow these people to vote?!

We just can't have educated people hanging around the place asking awkward questions it seems.

[antiestablishmentarian]

If you're a citizen you should be entitled to vote regardless of where you live or how long you've lived there.

[youngdan]

yes because you care.

Because I am just after bailing you out and I am still waiting for my Christmas card

[Sam Lord]

Because I am just after bailing you out and I am still waiting for my Christmas card

Could you please send the cash directly in future.

[oibal60]

As an emigrant - living here in NY -- (had to leave in the 80's due to, well, you know...) - you guyz are crackin' me up!

Gerry

[Kid Ryder]

If you're a citizen you should be entitled to vote regardless of where you live or how long you've lived there.

If you're a human being you should be entitled a priori to full participation in the society in which you live. I am very wary about talk of 'citizenship' and 'citizens' rights', because the creation of 'non-citizens' as a caste in society gives capital a population without defensible rights to abuse and use as a wedge to split the working class. I'd see the votes for emigrants debate in a similar light. If Irish people abroad were allowed to fully participate in the politics and society of their adopted homes, then their representation in a place where they don't live would be entirely moot. This is an artifact of the division of the world into a multiplicity of jealous state powers whose rulers have need to disadvantage immigrants and create scapegoats for the deliberate misleading of people.

It'd be interesting to see how the class composition of the 'emigrant vote' would break down now, especially now there are thousands of ultra-well-off Oireland Inc. fugitives among their number. You could argue that JP McManus and David Drumm don't need a vote anyhow, sure they'll have the ear of any govt. that gets in, solely on the basis of their multi-millions. And the ultra-rich are making up an increasing proportion of the Irish diaspora these days. Effectively, emigrant vote proposers are going to further empower a class of folks who have too much influence in Ireland already anyway. If you're a working-class emigrant, the political and economic rights you need to defend and vindicate are in your host country, not here. You may have an interest in political matters in Ireland, but your ability to participate meaningfully is cut across by your absence from the polity. Unless you're one of the Oireland Inc. anointed, of course.

[truth.ie]

As an Irishman living abroad I have LESS democratic rights, less say and less input in my country than the Tory Cabinet or bureucrats in Brussels.

A British Secretary of State also rules over my Constituency, and i can't vote him out. Irregardless of whether I'm in Ireland or not.
The electoral system is just window dressing for a dictatorship.
Nice II and Lisbon II proved that.

[Slim Buddha]

One of the reasons the gombeenarchy refuse to allow emigrants the vote is that there are, theoretically, so many Irish passport holders living abroad who would have a voting entitlement that that group, should they all exercise that right, could wield a huge influence over the result of a general election. Possibly an influence great enough to vote them out and keep them out. Hence the refusal to contemplate extending the voting right to them.

This question was posed in the other parish and the anti-emigrant feeling, particularly among FFers, was strong enough to achieve a minor consensus on the notion of stripping people of Irish citizenship after 3 years of them being abroad for whatever reason. So there is plenty of opposition to extending the franchise among the knuckle-dragging community.

[Gruffalo]

One of the reasons the gombeenarchy refuse to allow emigrants the vote is that there are, theoretically, so many Irish passport holders living abroad who would have a voting entitlement that that group, should they all exercise that right, could wield a huge influence over the result of a general election. Possibly an influence great enough to vote them out and keep them out. Hence the refusal to contemplate extending the voting right to them.

This question was posed in the other parish and the anti-emigrant feeling, particularly among FFers, was strong enough to achieve a minor consensus on the notion of stripping people of Irish citizenship after 3 years of them being abroad for whatever reason. So there is plenty of opposition to extending the franchise among the knuckle-dragging community.

As far as I am concerned, under no circumstances should citizens outside the country be allowed to vote. If you are not going to live in Ireland and face the consequences of your decisions then you should not have a vote. And I say that as someone who currently lives outside the country.

Given the vast number of Irish citizens who live outside Ireland, there would be too much power lying outside the state. While the current mess needs to be sorted out but this is not the way to do it.

[youngdan]

The people living inside Ireland should have the vote removed as they have shown they don't have the brains necessary. The will always vote for whichever party promises them the most handouts. They have a dependent mindset. They refuse to mature and always look to someone else to take care of them. They always have their hand out for something free, like an UNI education that they for some reason believe someone else should pay for.

Only give the vote to those who are getting nothing from the state and reduce the state to what is affordable.

Instead the gimme gimme momma brigade ran up a debt of 95 billion. Now the gimme gimme poppa brigade has added 85 billion more.

Let the givers vote.

Let the takers be servants